A Bluffton veterinarian doubles as a transporter of primates for medical
research -- a practice considered controversial because of the animals' more
human capacity for suffering.

Paul Barras, a veterinarian at the Banfield Pet Hospital in the Bluffton
PetSmart off U.S. 278, owns Barr Scientific Transport, a Beaufort-based
company specializing in primate transport services between suppliers and
labs.

The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida received a tip linking Barr
Scientific Transport to two Florida-based suppliers, said Nick Atwood,
spokesman for the group.